Update 18th of January:
Please read Perpetual License Changes and the Loyalty Program - How it affects you for all details.
The below article has been updated to reflect the fact that the changes will take effect on February 14th, not February 1st.
Update 8th of December:
We have read through all your comments and identified some common misunderstandings, that we will clarify here:
We are keeping perpetual licenses, and you can still buy them anytime, after February 14th, 2023 or even after September 30th, 2023.
When we state,"There will not be a Capture One 24", it only means we are changing the product's naming. We will continue to release versions of Capture One Pro, that can be purchased as a perpetual license.
We have released information about our Loyalty program that will take effect February 14th, 2023.
If you have already purchased or upgraded to Capture One Pro 23 (or plan to do so before February 14th, 2023): The product we released in early November is exactly the same as you are getting. The new license model will be implemented on Feb 14th, 2023, impacting only new purchases of Capture One Pro. So you will be getting free updates (incl. features and bug fixes) through to September 30th, 2023.
You will be able to purchase the version of Capture One Pro released after September 30th, 2023 if you want to - and you will be able to do so through our loyalty program (which we will share more information about in January).
If you choose not to upgrade, you will be able to use the version of Capture One Pro you have purchased without losing any of its features, just as it has always been the case with perpetual licenses.
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Below you will find all the necessary information regarding how to manage your Capture One Pro license.
We've tried our best to use examples where possible using current versions. I.e., 16.x describes a feature release; containing new features and functionality and 16.x.x describes a service release; which usually contains bug fixes and optimizations.
What is changing?
After 14th of February 2023, new perpetual license purchases will not include any feature updates (16.x)
This means that any updates containing new features and functionality will not be included in your license purchase. However, bug fixes and optimizations will be included(16.x.x) until a new paid version is released (16.x).
Finally as a subscription always provides you with access to the latest version, subscribers will also not be affected by these changes.
How does it affect you?
Please select from the following:
- I have a subscription to Capture One Pro
- I have a license for Capture One Pro 23 purchased before February 14, 2023
- I have a license for Capture One Pro 23 purchased after February 14, 2023
- I have a license for Capture One Pro 22 or an older version
- I have a multi-user license
- I have an enterprise license
- Frequently Asked Questions
"I have a subscription to Capture One Pro."
The changes outlined here have no impact on Capture One subscriptions.
There is no need to purchase anything else or change anything to do with your subscription license.
Subscribers will continue to receive all updates including new features, improvements, and new camera & lens support.
The changes outlined in this article are for perpetual license holders only.
If you are unsure on the type of license that you have, check the License Management section of your Capture One profile.
"I have a license for Capture One Pro 23 purchased before February 14th, 2023"
You will receive free updates until September 30th, 2023.
If you wish to get a new version of Capture One Pro after September 30th, 2023, you will need to buy a new license.
"I have a license for Capture One Pro 23 purchased after February 14, 2023"
You will receive bug fixes (16.x.x) up until a new paid version (16.x) is released. The service updates (16.xx) will not include feature updates.
If you wish to get a new version of Capture One Pro, you will need to buy a new license (16.x) – which will contain new features and functionality.
"I have a license for Capture One Pro 22 or an older version."
Your license is perpetual and yours to keep, for as long as you can meet the minimum system requirements.
If you're planning on upgrading an older version of Capture One...
- Purchase before February 14, 2023 and receive feature updates (16.x) and service releases (16.x.x) until September 2023
- Purchase after February 14th, 2023 and receive only service releases (16.x.x) for the version you have purchased
"I have a multi-user license."
Unless specified otherwise in the terms of your agreement, you will receive free feature updates (16.x) for 12 months when you purchase or upgrade a multi-user license
"I have an enterprise license."
Please check the terms of your agreement with Capture One.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Are you getting rid of the perpetual license option?
A: No. The changes we are making allow us to shift to the latest software development practices without removing perpetual licenses altogether. While over half of our users are on a subscription and close to 80% of new users choose a subscription, we still understand that perpetual licenses are important for many of you. That’s why we’re committed to keeping the option open
Q: I have a license for Capture One Pro 23 I purchased before February 14, 2023 and I will get free feature updates until September 30, 2023. After that date, what happens if I want to get the latest version of Capture One Pro?
A: You will need to buy a new copy of Capture One Pro to be covered under our new license model from October 1st 2023 onwards.
Q: I have a license for Capture One 22 or older. What are my options?
A: If you are happy on your current version of Capture One Pro, great! If you want the latest version of Capture One Pro after February 14, 2023, you will need to purchase a new software license.
If you are considering moving to Capture One Pro 23, our upgrade pricing (33% off the full price) is open to you until February 13, 2023.
Or if you’d like to receive all our updates as we release them, you may wish to try out one of our subscription plans.
Q: The current version used to be a year, but how long does a current version last now?
A: We are moving to a ‘release when ready’ model which allows us to deliver new features and improvements as soon as they are ready. As such, the length of a version will vary based on the time it takes us to develop each feature.
Q: Will there be any change to iPad & Live Support?
A: No, we will continue to support the current (dot) version, plus the previous (dot) version.
For example:
- Current version = 16.0
- iPad & Live support = 16.0, 15.4
Q: Will the number of seats/activations change?
A: No. We are not making any changes to the number of activations you can make per license.
Capture One Pro allows up to 3 activations
Capture One Pro for Sony/Fuji/Nikon allows up to 2 activations
Q: Why are you removing licenses?
A: We are not removing licenses.
We offer a perpetual license which contains exactly what is stated in the release notes at the time of purchase, and we will continue to do so. This license is yours to own and keep.
The change being implemented from February 14, 2023, will affect new customers and license holders of Capture One 22 and older who wish to purchase a license for the latest version.
These license holders and new customers will have the opportunity to stay on the license they have purchased for as long as they like at no additional cost.
Q: What is the loyalty program?
A:We have heard you and understand why there are questions on this topic.
We will make sure to inform you about the loyalty program ahead of February 14, 2023, in order to give you ample time to make the decision that suits you best.
Q: I have purchased Capture One Pro 23 and I feel cheated.
A: We are not making changes to your purchase of Capture One Pro 23.
It is yours to keep and you will continue to receive updates until the final quarter of 2023.
You will not be receiving any ‘less’ than in previous years, as per the terms and conditions.
Q: Will I need to pay and upgrade multiple times a year?
A: It is always your decision when and how often to get the latest version of Capture One Pro.
If you always want to have the newest features as soon as they are released, a subscription plan is really the best option.
If you want to make sure that you get the latest version of Capture One Pro each year (as it works under the current model) and don’t need new features as soon as they are released, we want to make sure your cost of ownership does not go up.
Comments
994 comments
For folks covered by statutory warranties, eg EU, the way forward would seem pretty clear:
You buy a perpetual licence. If at any time in the next X years, depending on your warranty legislation, you encounter a reproducible bug on a supported operating system that can be shown to be a Capture One issue, you ask Capture One provide you with a no-cost fix.
These regulations are usually pretty clear that rectifying a faulty product cannot be used as an inducement to pay more money for a higher specification product to replace it.
Suffice to say, Capture One's statement that they will only provide bugfixes (flawed product remediation) until their next paid upgrade is not worth the paper it's written on. You are entitled to 100% of features, working 100% of the time, for the duration of the statutory warranty. That is the minimum standard for a merchantable product in most jurisdictions.
If the only option they offer is "pay to upgrade", then you file a refund claim, and initiate a formal complaint with your relevant consumer protection authorities.
You take that refund money, and buy a new Capture One perpetual licence, and begin the 2 year cycle anew.
I have to admit that i misunderstood the DNG support of C1 in their FAQ - I have downloaded some RAW files from the new Fuji H2s (26mp), H2 (40mp), Canon R6 II and Sony A7R V - all not supported as RAW's in C1 15.0. But converted with the Adobe DNG Converter Version 15.1.1. (Compatibility setting 2.4 and newer, originals not embedded) the DNG's can be opened in C1 22 V15.0. Have not tried other ones, and i think they have to be uncompressed.
Which are good news for us/me because i do not have to care about coming camera RAW support and can even be more happy with my V22.
Dear mattspace,
As a lawyer, I can confirm that with your proposed approach you will have very good chances to get always the newest license for free, provided your domicile is in the EU.
“ your proposed approach you will have very good chances to get always the newest license for free, provided your domicile is in the EU. ”
I’m guessing it might take some (at least threat of) legal action, but I’m wondering if the basic warranty of merchantability, and/or other similar laws, might do much the same in the US?
Geometricus wrote:
If that's our consumer right then C1 should limit the reputational risk and damage NOW and get their act together and announce that they will be providing a bug fix only version with free bug fix releases for the respective warranty period to perpetual license holders (2 years in the EU, or graciously 2 years for all customers around the globe).
As long as Capture One has been around, now up to 23 release versions, it seems incredible to me that people are so concerned about “Bug Fixes”. This kind of implies that, historically, the software 1) has a problem with a lot of Bugs and 2) seldom works 100% the way it’s supposed to from any given version release. Imagine those who go on the subscription model, receiving frequent new buggy feature updates and having to deal with bug fixes and updates constantly. One of the niceties of perpetual licenses is that once they work, assuming they do, you keep that version and don’t need to update until the user changes something, or a desired feature is released and the user wants to. Users don’t need to frequently adjust their workflow and processing habits to interface changes they may not have really wanted, but get only because they upgrade or update, whether for new features or bug fixes.
Weldon Thomson:
I, for one, have had technical issues with Capture One since I first started using it in late 2019. Only one serious issue was caused by an update, at least I assume it was caused by an update (the issue with disappearing masks); a few minor issues were caused by updates, but nothing that would keep me from updating. The other serious issues I've had, and partly still have, were there already when I started using Capture One, e.g. the malfunctioning keystone tool (which has now been fixed, though it's is still quite rudimentary compared to other such tools) and Capture One's poor handling of larger catalogues, though perhaps these things are on a different scale than mere bugs.
“ But that's not's C1's style. Never, ever going to be honest and forthright with their customer base.”
That is precisely the problem with this this entire debacle.
Christopher Dubea:
Indeed. I have a six months old support request regarding unresponsiveness apparently caused by Capture One's inability to handle larger catalogues. They claim they're unable to reproduce it, but I have yet to hear as much as a suggestion of what to try in order to solve it (apart from the universal turn on or off hardware acceleration). I've done everything I could think of to rule out that the issue was caused by something on my system, including reinstalling everything on my computer from scratch and creating new catalogues, and I've sent Capture One all possible information several times, but all I've heard from them is "we're still looking into it" etc. In the meantime they've merged the ticket with an an unrelated ticket as well as "accidentally" closed it.
I suspect that the more people use the software, the more features and functions they use, the more the find bugs. Bugs may be minor or significant, depending on use. You seem to echo the sentiments of others who share that a number of things, like catalogues, have never really worked right. Maybe people find workarounds or, like you, use other software to fill the gaps? Bottom line is, Capturw One has not been very good about addressing customer needs and fixing problems. My guess, based on the changes driving more people into an expensive subscription model, is that their failures may not be a lack of desire to do so but, rather, a lack of financial resources to adequately repair and maintain the software while simultaneously satisfying their investors. How all this all factors into the equation is in creating a choice for each of us - do we really want to bail out a apparently failing company by pouring money into their product which, though very good for many things, continues to fall short of many customers expectations. They say these changes are to provide customer requested feature releases on a more regular basis (a dubious claim, at best) when what they should be focusing on is correcting, improving, and stabilizing their existing product, first, for existing customers. Instead, they would rather take the road of withholding “bug fixes”, leaving users with known faulty (even if workable) product unless they pay more to fix the problems. I have no desire to bail these thoughtless, greedy, morons out more than the few hundred dollars I have already given them for software that I now must figure out how, or if, I can make use of it in some part of my workflow just to salvage something at all for myself. No way I’m giving them anything else any time soon or without some dramatic changes in their program.
@Christopher
I can very well imagine.
Unless something unexpected happens before September I'll probably end up switching to a subscription though very reluctantly, particularly because of the way the company handles support – perhaps it would be more correct to say fends off support requests – and communication with users.
@Thomas Kyhn
@Thomas Kyhn
„ …t would be more correct to say fends off support requests…“ is the only way to Phrase this problem. And therefore I will never end up with a subscription of C1.
For those of you considering DXO here are some thoughts. First I did try the trial ver and initially it seemed ok for the couple of hours I messed with it.
I got "elite" which is the top product tier. One would expect its fully featured yet some really basic things are very missing. There is no add grain tool. For that you have to spend *another* $139 for the film pack option. :( even a few of the presets don't enable it. MAybe I should of bough back in dec wtih the 30% discount which made it almost free.
Lens corrections : if this matters to you, it may be super frustrating because they are tied to camera body + lens. If you have a Fuji camera and say a sigma wide angle, you are out of luck even if that lens is profiled with say a canon body. The profile is read from the img meta data and auto enabled. even if lens corrections aren't your thing - you pick lenses based on their actual vs corrected prefect rendering, hold on a sec -
Sharpening : this is tied to the lens profile. so guess what ? you don't have any advanced sharpening option enabled if your camera + lens isn't profiled. This leaves you with a simple unsharp mask. a touch of unsharpmasking can help an image but advanced sharpening is what you want to give images cut and pop. C1 wins here since it doesn't care about lens profile.
The auto adjustments worked well for some of my landcape work shot on canon. For Fuji I shut all the auto's off since I wasn't thrilled with them. During the trial I'd used DXO on a folder of canon RAW and it was ok. So once you dial in a grade its easy to copy and paste to other images. more so than C1 to be sure.
The spot correction tools are different, but always editable and seemed ok. The auto mask doesn't outline an object when you brush over it, but in fact it seemed to generally get objects correctly. The only way to see this was to make a very large obvious correction to see the object was in fact selected correctly. UI problem for sure.
There are no layers like C1, but each correction with a tool remains selecteable on the image and editable. Works fine, just different than C1
DXO has a good noise reduction options, but its not my thing or need. I normally shut them off, then miss having a grain tool. if you like NR then you'll like what DXO has to offer.
Over all DXO is certainly a less featured and powerful tool than C1 :( but if you want something simpler it might work for you. Its certainly very fast. It seems to have a db option to create projects and bring virtual copies of images into projects but I haven't messed wtih that part. My workflow is just to open a folder of images and work there. Sadly DXO makes sidecar files for every image you edit. Good or bad . At least you can bulk delete them if you want easily enough.
Some other serious limitations of DXO : export limited to TIFF, jpg 8bit and DNG. no PSD, Jpeg2000 or the new standard : HEIC. I was really surprised that it couldn't read the HIC ( HEIC) 10bit images from my new Fuji while the finder and many other apps display them fine. Some really rough edges here.
Overall C1 is the better tool depsite its majorly bad housekeeping / db / cache file spraying. DXO can open folders of images just for preview w/o writing anything, C1 can't :(
So C1 23 should keep running for the next several years which is fine. I'll have to export images when I'm done editing them. Maybe DXO has some leaps forwards like more format support for file I/O. Either way unless C1 changes their policies, they have lost me as a long term customer even though I'd bee getting upgrades every 12-14 months.
Steve
thank you very much for sharing your experiences with DxO - very helpful for my own decisions. Have you tried the DxO pure raw plug in as well?
I think, so far, the best option with DXO may be to use Photolab 6 as a plug-in with Lightroom Classic. One could use Pure Raw, which is a little less expensive than Photolab, but it does not offer some of the extra controls and adjustment to fine tune the sharpening and noise reduction that many might want. Also, I shoot a lot of Fuji raws and, for a lot of images and uses, Lightroom now works well enough by itself. So, not all images need to make the round-trip through DXO. One thing I do like about DXO Photolab, though, is that it’s catalogue is basically a file browser, with indexing and search functions based in file metadata, so I don’t have to be a concerned about corrupted catalogues or moving image files around outside of the software. That seems a bit more bullet proof for my way of working than being locked into either Capture One or Lightroom proprietary catalogues. For now, I’m kind of still bouncing around C1, DXO, and Lightroom, trying to see what falls into place as the most functional and efficient workflow.
@weldon Thomson Did you try On1 Photo Raw 2023?
Mariusz Janosz,
No, I have not yet tried On1. May check it out, though.
No because AFAIK Elite has all that built in. Their site is terribly unclear about things, and whats included in what products. The optics module is apart of elite and thats where the specific camera body + lens comes into play, and ifyou don't have the right combo you are stuck for those features. if there is a way to force over ride the meta data and match your sensor size + lens, I'd like to know but from what I can tell, that isn't possible.
I have bought DXO as an alternative RAW converter and better DAM (never searched anything untill the license changes in C1)... but after trial it was clear I had to buy 2 additional products than PhotoLab: ViewPoint and FilmPack. The first for Volumetric Correction which is a good addition for regular perspective correction which is included in PhotoLab and a "puppet wrap - like" correction. If You co not need those then it will not be mandatory. Fimpack though unlocks better contrast & color management. Both of the others can be used outside Photolab - so I can also first process in C1 and then do the advanced prespective or color correction in them. I did not consider Pure RAW. DXO is slower when using the AI versions of denoising, the colors out of the box in C1 for me are better, but all can be tweked, Crop tool in DXO does not contrain to image bounds when perspective corrected (there is auto crop though)
Just my two cents regarding DXO. As far as I understand split toning is also part of Film Pack. But m biggest issue with DXO is that shadows/highlights recovery is rather poor. "Blacks recovery" is changing way too much of the color range. When pushed, even areas that not nearly black are changed. Considering I take a lot of photos with contrast I need a lot of shadows recovery.
I found that Darktable does way better job than DXO, comparable with C1.
Totally disappointed by this policy. Awful marketing. Incorrect behaviour with the customers
Fortunately, I didn't upgrade to C23.
I will switch to another software when C22 is no longer usable.
You lost another client.
“ they are laying their cards on the table. ”
Hence, I have already committed to never again sending Capture One another penny. I have found, and will be using alternatives which, for my needs, appear to be as good or better anyway.
@ Shark Senesac
to be clear, with the old licensing system it'd be totally ok to iterate on newly introduced features (did someone just say pano stitching ;) ...)
The problem is that they also raise the version number to 16.X.0 (just like in the old license scheme).
So with the new licensing, you would not get any of those "feature iterations" (read: bugfixes) from the point of said release. We're not talking about features, just bugfixes. First, I was hoping they would adapt their development pipeline to the new licensing, but I know that is naive amateur thinking of me...
Other software companies (eg. Apple, sticks to annual releases) have a "service window" of at least a year for a major version to get most of the bugs ironed out. I would not expect that CO now, magically, achieve the same quality standard in just 3 months...
where is the beta download ? or is that only for beta program...I'm in enough of them already.
Not sure exactly where I was "wrong" - given I've never predicted how or when releases and updates would work. (And, actually, we still don't - this is for current v16/23 - maybe the cycles will change in the future, who knows?) 😂🤷♂️
Again, what was discussed was the fact people were making decisions, and global statements on behalf of a wider community, without all of the facts available to them.
Now those facts are available, people are better placed to make the call that's right for their use.
Pretty simple - non-condescending - logical approach, I'd say. 👍
(As an example of clarified information, anyone with a perpetual license for 23 should absolutely not switch to a subscription until after 30th September, or they'd be wasting money at this point and get the same deal then as they would at any time after 14th February, regardless.)
Though it is easy for some to call out and diminish others expressed views and assessments as “speculation”, it is hardly speculation when it is pretty clear to so many what is going on and where things are likely headed. Lack of facts can be every bit as telling as an abundance of facts.
The facts that have recently become available seem to be pretty much what many have predicted from the beginning, although they may still be subject to change (for better or worse), and have not altered my perspective, or changed anything I’ve previously believed/expressed in the least. Capture One is in the process of screwing a lot of its customers and, possibly, itself to some extent. In fact the changes, the companies lack of transparency, and the readily apparent underhanded-ness in how Capture One went about this business over the past 3-6 months, has caused me to looked harder and re-evaluate other options, which I have since determined to be better for my needs, before I had a chance to get too invested in using Capture One in my workflow.
Per Capture One email I just received -
“ If you want to try a subscription, you should wait until after the 14th, as you will receive a discount on your first year through the loyalty program.”
After the first year???? Are you then no more “loyal” than any other subscriber and subject to the full price? What is the “loyalty” subscription discount, both monthly and for annual payment, and how is the pricing compared to buying an upgraded perpetual license annually (or when needed for some reason) for as long as such thing may continue to be available?
Does the license key for the (whatever licenses version) Capture One software you purchased continue to work along with the subscription, or if you later choose to end your subscription?
Shark Senesac
Please remember that you signed an NDA when you agreed to becoming a Beta tester. You're not supposed to discuss details of the Beta publicly and feedback should be given via the "report a bug" option in the Capture One Beta.
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